Raincloud
by a writer's puppet
Summary: It's not easy being introverted. Beca knows this, and that's why she's so glad she has Chloe Beale in her life.


The Bellas house was quiet tonight. Everyone had gone out to a club, except for Emily who was visiting her mother instead.

Except for Beca, who laid in her bed, staring up at the ceiling with glassy eyes. She wondered if her girls were having fun, and mentally berated herself for never wanting to go to a social outing because her anxiety skyrocketed. Always making excuses when the Bellas wanted to go somewhere: "Sorry, I have tons of homework and my dad will kill me if I fail" "I'm actually not feeling too well, sorry..." "I have a test tomorrow guys, sorry."

Sorry, always sorry.

She let a tear escape from her eye and didn't bother wiping it away, instead resigning to just wallow.

Beca knew it, but refused to acknowledge it. She'd been depressed for a while now. So long. So often would she find herself in the same exact position she was in right now, hands clasped together on her stomach, counting the bumps on the ceiling, trying to calm herself. She choked back a sob as she thought about it.

She could be out laughing with her family. Drinking away what sorrow she had. She wondered if they ever tired of her refusals to hang out. Thought badly of her because she was never there. Then she scoffed at herself, because they probably didn't even _notice_. As if she ever really mattered to the dynamic of the group. Of course they didn't notice, she never contributed when she _was_ out.

She buried her face in one of her pillows to try to block out those thoughts. She also turned on music at full volume, but nothing worked. The thoughts were attacking her mind, refusing to let her think of anything else. And so she continued sobbing, her cries drowned out by the music, her tears staining the pillow.

And suddenly, she heard the music volume drastically decrease, as well as soft hands brushing her hair back from her face.

"Beca?" she heard. And wow, did she love that voice. Tears fell harder from her eyes, the voice belonging to someone she hated disappointing.

"Becs, look at me." and although she fought it, she turned her head to look at the beauty that was Chloe Beale.

She sniffled. "Why are you here?"

Chloe shrugged, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "I was there for like ten minutes, but it didn't feel as fun without you."

There was a pause.

"Are you okay?"

Beca could see Chloe cringe, as if mentally slapping herself for asking such a dumb question when it was obvious that she wasn't. Nevertheless, Beca nodded.

"Peachy."

Chloe frowned, and Beca wanted nothing more than to make her smile again. After all, she'd been harbouring a huge crush on the redhead since sophomore year, when she helped her through her breakup with Jesse. But her thoughts had always told her _no_. That Chloe would never feel the same way. And so she had pushed those feelings down as far as they would go in a desperate effort to keep their friendship the same.

As Beca got lost in her thoughts, Chloe got the hint that the smaller girl didn't want to talk. So instead, she kicked off her shoes and took off her jacket, and gently moved Beca to the other side of the bed.

"What are you doing?"

Chloe didn't reply, instead replacing the empty space in Beca's bed with her body. She laid facing the brunette, and smiled softly.

"What's going through your mind?" she asked, stroking Beca's hair.

She saw the internal battle Beca was going through in her mind as she fought to answer.

"I-" she stopped to wipe another tear from her eye. "I guess it's no secret that I'm an introvert."

Chloe nodded slowly, shooing Beca's hand away and replacing it with hers instead, wiping away any remnants of tears with the pad of her thumb.

"I used to be like you, you know." Beca chuckled. When Chloe raised an eyebrow, she continued: "I always wanted to say hi to everyone. Wanted to go out of my way to get someone to smile. I was like that until I was a sophomore in high school, and my mom killed herself."

She felt Chloe stiffen, her eyes flooding with sympathy.

"Beca, I'm so sorry."

Beca sniffled. "Yeah, me too." they laid in silence for a few moments, before she continued.

"My mom was my best friend. I told her every single thing about my life and she would smile and laugh and tell me about her day. She was a doctor, so she wasn't home much. But when she was, even though she was exhausted, she would talk to me for hours over dinner and we'd watch a movie together every night she was home."

Beca sighed heavily. "I'm sure you can guess why I hate movies so much now."

Chloe nodded and moved her arms to wrap them around the smaller girl.

"Um..after that happened, I kept myself locked up in my room. I didn't like talking to people. I moved in with my mom's sister, my aunt, and my mom's death hit her hard. So we were both kind of reclusive, for a long time. And I guess I just got used to that lifestyle."

Beca's sniffles gradually decreased the longer she talked. At this point, she felt as though she was rambling, and the voices in her head told her to shut up, but she kept going.

"So when I met you guys, and you guys kept inviting me out... I would always make excuses. Because I don't do that stuff anymore. I'm not used to it. When I'm in big crowds I get really claustrophobic and-"

She stopped, and Chloe took this time to hug her tighter, and gave her a small smile.

"I've had lots of panic attacks in high school because of this," Beca revealed. "It wasn't a very bright spot in my life."

"Beca, don't ever feel like you have to go out with us. You don't have to make excuses, all of us would totally understand. From now on Becs, I'll stay with you."

"You don't have to do that Chlo," Beca said hesitantly, her eyes betraying what she truly felt: she desperately wanted Chloe to stay behind.

"I want to do it." was the redhead's reply. "I'll do it because I love you."

Her arms flew out of their embrace of the smaller girl and on her mouth.

"Fuck, I didn't mean to-"

"You love me?" Beca interrupted. Her eyes were shining.

"Uh-"

"Is this like a friend love, or is it like..."

Chloe sighed and decided to take the plunge.

"Beca Mitchell, I am in love with you."

For the first time that night, Beca smiled; a smile so wide it felt like her face was going to split in half. Chloe watched her with bated breath.

"I love you too, Chloe Bea-" and before she could finish the sentence, the redhead dove forward, her hands cupping the sides of Beca's face, and captured the brunette's lips in a kiss. This took Beca by surprise, but she quickly recovered and kissed the other girl back with as much enthusiasm.

When they parted, they pressed their foreheads against each other and looked into the other's eyes.

"I'm so glad you're in my life, Chloe." Beca said softly. "I don't think I would have survived without you."

Chloe smiled widely at the other girl and pecked her lips.

"You are so amazing, Becs. Don't ever leave me."

Beca wrapped her arms around the older girl and rested her head against Chloe's collarbone.

"Don't worry, Chlo. I'll always be the raincloud to your sunshine."


End file.
